Taneti Maamau

Taneti Maamau (modern spelling: Taaneti Mwamwau, born 16 September 1960)[1] is a Kiribati politician who is currently the 5th President of Kiribati. A member of Tobwaan Kiribati Party, he began his career in public service as a Planning Officer with the Ministry of Finance in 1979 before becoming Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives.[2]

His Excellency

Taneti Maamau
Taneti Maamau
5th President of Kiribati
Assumed office
11 March 2016
Vice PresidentKourabi Nenem
Teuea Toatu
Preceded byAnote Tong
Personal details
Born (1960-09-16) 16 September 1960
Onotoa, Gilbert and Ellice Islands (now Kiribati)
Political partyTobwaan Kiribati Party
Spouse(s)Teiraeng Tentoa Maamau
Alma materUniversity of the South Pacific
The University of Queensland

In 2002, Maamau resigned from public service to join politics and won one of the seats for his constituency home island Onotoa. In 2015, he was re-elected a member of the Maneaba ni Maungatabu (parliament).[3] He previously served as the Finance Minister under President Teburoro Tito.

Maamau contested for the 2016 presidential election, where he was supported by a new coalition of the Tobwaan Kiribati Party. He received the support from former president Teburoro Tito, the predecessor of Anote Tong.[4] He won the election and was officially declared President after winning against the ruling party by 20,000 votes. He began his first term on 11 March 2016.[5][6]

In August 2018, he was installed as the Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific.[7]

In September 2019, Maamau ended Kiribati's diplomatic ties with Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with China. The decision comes after Taiwan dismissed Maamau's request of "massive financial assistance to purchase commercial air planes".[8] As a result, his governing party lost the majority in the 2020 parliamentary elections from 34 seats to 22.[9]

He ran for re-election in the 2020 presidential election against former party member Banuera Berina of Boutokaan Kiribati Moa Party. Taneti won the election by 59% of the vote and was officially sworn in for his second term on 24 June 2020.[10]

See also

References
  1. "President Taneti Maamau", Republic of Kiribati Presidential Web Portal
  2. "President Taneti Maamau biography | President Taneti Maamau". Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  3. "Maneaba Ni Maungatabu" (PDF). Parliament.gov.ki. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-19. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  4. "Pacific Islands News Association : PACNEWS - News reader". Pina.com.fj. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  5. "Taneti Maamau declared new president of Kiribati - Fiji Times Online". web.archive.org. 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  6. RB. "Kiribati: un nouveau président élu à la place d'un champion de la cause climatique". TAHITI INFOS, les informations de Tahiti (in French). Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  7. "Chancellor". University of the South Pacific. August 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  8. Lyons, Kate (2019-09-20). "Taiwan loses second ally in a week as Kiribati switches to China". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  9. Pala, Christopher (2020-04-24). "Pro-China Kiribati president loses majority over switch from Taiwan". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  10. "Kiribati's pro-China leader wins re-election in blow to Taiwan". Reuters. 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
Political offices
Preceded by
Anote Tong		 President of Kiribati
2016–present		 Incumbent
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